PS1010 Columbia Southern Unit VII Federal Bureaucracy and Judiciary Essay Instructions you will prepare an essay Make sure that your paper answers the fol

PS1010 Columbia Southern Unit VII Federal Bureaucracy and Judiciary Essay Instructions

you will prepare an essay Make sure that your paper answers the following questions:

Instructions

For this assignment, you will prepare an essay in which you will reflect upon the material you have studied in this unit. Make sure that your paper answers the following questions:

What is the structure of the federal bureaucracy? In your opinion, should the federal bureaucracy be considered, as it is by some, as the “real government”? Why, or why not?
What is the structure and role of the judiciary system? Give at least one example of how the judicial system can curb the power of the bureaucracy and one example each of how it can curb the power of the executive and legislative branches.
What is the iron triangle, and how does it affect the creation of government policy?
What has this unit taught you about the inner workings of the federal government?

Your paper must be at least three pages in length, be double-spaced, and typed in 12-point Times New Roman font.

You must use at least three academic references, one of which must come from the CSU Online Library, for the development of your paper. Make sure that all sources are cited and referenced using APA guidelines.

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (2016). Federal courts & the public. Retrieved from http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/feder…

Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8. The bureaucracy: The real government. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8.asp

Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8b. The organization of the bureaucracy. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8b.asp

Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8c. Who are the bureaucrats? Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8c.asp

Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8d. Reforming the bureaucracy. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8d.asp

Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 9b. The structure of the federal courts. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/9b.asp

The White House. (2016). The judicial branch. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/judicial-branch UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Governing Institutions: The Federal
Bureaucracy and Judiciary
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Describe the three branches of government.
3.1 Explain the structure of the federal bureaucracy.
3.2 Describe the structure of the judicial system.
4. Explain how the U.S. government functions at the federal, state, and local levels.
4.1 Describe the judiciary’s roles and controls in the government.
4.2 Explain the concept of the iron triangle.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
3.1
3.2
4.1
4.2
Learning Activity
Unit VII Lesson
Reading: “8. The Bureaucracy: The Real Government”
Reading: “8b. The Organization of the Bureaucracy”
Reading: “8c. Who Are the Bureaucrats?”
Reading: “8d. Reforming the Bureaucracy”
Unit VII Essay
Unit VII Lesson
Reading: “The Judicial Branch”
Reading: “Federal Courts & the Public”
Reading: “9b. The Structure of the Federal Courts”
Unit VII Essay
Unit VII Lesson
Reading: “The Judicial Branch”
Reading: “Federal Courts & the Public”
Unit VII Essay
Unit VII Lesson
Reading: “8. The Bureaucracy: The Real Government”
Unit VII Essay
Reading Assignment
To access the following resources, click the links below.
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (2016). Federal courts & the public. Retrieved from
http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/federal-courts-public
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8. The bureaucracy: The real government. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8b. The organization of the bureaucracy. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8b.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8c. Who are the bureaucrats? Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8c.asp
PS 1010, American Government
1
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8d. Reforming the bureaucracy. Retrieved
from
UNIT
x STUDY GUIDE
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8d.asp
Title
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 9b. The structure of the federal courts. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/9b.asp
The White House. (2016). The judicial branch. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/judicialbranch
Unit Lesson
The term bureaucracy refers to the hierarchical system of government and its administration. Most of us
associate a bureaucracy with inefficiency, inaction, and piles of paperwork, often referred to as red tape.
Interestingly, the term red tape was derived from the actual red tape used in Great Britain and the colonies to
bundle legal and official documents. Today, the proverbial red tape represents to most Americans the
challenges associated with navigating governmental procedures and processes.
Memorial wall in the lobby of the CIA Original
Headquarters Building, Langley, Virginia
(Central Intelligence Agency, n. d.)
In the United States, the bureaucracy is comprised of
three major administrative agencies, the Executive Office
of the President, the 15 cabinet departments, and the
independent agencies. As discussed previously, the
executive office and cabinet bear the brunt of the
responsibility for governing the country. Indeed, the main
purpose of the federal bureaucracy is to execute the
policy decisions of the president and Congress. The
independent agencies operate beyond the powers and
scope of the cabinet and include regulatory commissions
such as the Federal Communications Commission and
the Securities and Exchange Commission, government
corporations such as the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, and independent executive agencies
(Farshtey, n.d.-b). Among the more noteworthy of the
independent agencies are the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA).
Most people try to avoid any interaction or encounters with the federal government. Most government
agencies prefer to remain off the public’s radar and only gain attention when something goes horribly wrong.
One example was the situation involving Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) in 2005.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the devastation along the Gulf
Coast of Mississippi and Louisiana led to an extreme example of
the type of media coverage federal agencies wish to avoid. FEMA
should have stepped in to guide the federal response and provide
assistance to those areas affected by the storm because of the
declared state of emergency. FEMA, however, failed to do so for
several days, leaving thousands of people stranded with no
resources.
Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana at the time, said that an
effective emergency response was blocked by government
FEMA is an independent agency that handle
bureaucracy and too much red tape (Shoup, 2005). A review of
disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
the response, or the lack thereof, revealed that FEMA had
(Winer, 2005)
possibly placed too much emphasis on training and response to
terrorism, and that caused a breakdown in communication and lack of leadership (Shoup, 2005). Ultimately,
the head of FEMA resigned only weeks after Katrina (“FEMA Director Brown Resigns,” 2005).
PS 1010, American Government
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The red tape of a bureaucracy may serve as the focal point for criticism, but aUNIT
country
as largeGUIDE
as the United
x STUDY
States needs a bureaucracy to effectively manage its issues even if the bureaucracy
Title itself creates problems.
In the beginning, the federal government was small and in touch with the needs of the people because those
involved with the government split time between taking care of local matters and taking care of issues facing
the federal government. By the end of the 1800s, politicians began to spend more and more time away from
home, taking care of the business of the government, and the federal bureaucracy began to grow. One of the
first agencies created was the Department of Agriculture in 1889, which focused on research and commodity
production and prices (“Department of Agriculture,” 2003). From there, agencies grew slowly until the 1930s
and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. The government saw another growth in the 1960’s with Lyndon
Johnson’s Great Society (Independence Hall Association, n.d.-a).
All agencies live or die by their budgets. Without money, no agency program can exist, and only Congress
has the mandate to tax and spend. As a result, the budget process is a long, arduous task involving multiple
departments, agencies, and entities. The entire process takes one and a half years. The budget process both
begins and ends in February when the president submits a detailed budget request for the fiscal year
beginning October 1 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2016).
Though the budget is submitted in January or February for Congress to begin deliberations, discussions
actually begin the prior spring when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the president consult
on agency needs. Each agency is given a spending ceiling that it cannot exceed (Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities, 2017). Agencies work through the summer and submit their budget requests to the OMB for
review and finalizing in September. The president submits the budget proposal to Congress in January, and it
gets divided and sent to committee. By April 15, Congress should adopt a budget resolution and by
September should have completed work on appropriations bills in time for the president to sign or veto it for
the fiscal year beginning on October 1st. If all does not go well, and a budget is not passed, as has been the
case in recent years, Congress must pass temporary funding measures in order to maintain government
operations (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2017). Despite a lack of a budget or continuing resolution,
the president, with help from the treasury secretary, can keep vital federal services and functions operating for
some time.
While bureaucracy is constrained by the budget, it gains power from the broad discretion it is afforded in
decisions regarding the implementation of policy. Members gain power for their agencies and, in turn, play
politics to protect their programs and power. Clientele groups, groups who benefit directly from an agency’s
programs, are more than willing to lobby on behalf of the agency during program or funding reviews. The
budget process is far from simple and by its very nature demands oversight. The president, Congress, and
the court system assume most accountability for bureaucratic agencies.
The judiciary, or the federal court system, wields considerable power within the bureaucracy of the federal
government with a primary role of ruling on the laws passed by Congress. Judicial review, the ability of the
court to review acts of other branches of government and the states, is considered to be one of the judiciary’s
greatest powers. In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court first declared that a court can state that an act of
Congress is unconstitutional (History.com Editors, n.d.). This landmark decision established that the Supreme
Court has the ability to ensure that other branches of the government adhere to the Constitution of the United
States (Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
PS 1010, American Government
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The federal judicial system consists
of constitutional
and
UNIT
x STUDY GUIDE
legislative courts. The constitutional
courts are the federal courts
Title
created by Congress under Article III of the Constitution
(Farshtey, n.d.-a). Article III is the shortest of the articles on the
branches of government. When issuing rulings, the judiciary has
considerable discretion and is a political as well as legal
institution. While the Constitution provides for the Supreme Court,
it gives Congress the power to create all lower federal courts. The
president nominates and appoints all federal judges, but they
must be confirmed by the Senate. There are no formal
qualifications, and they serve “during good behavior.” This
essentially means that the justices serve until death or until they
voluntarily retire (Farshtey, n.d.-a). In extreme cases, they can be
removed through the impeachment process.
Federal court structure
(Independence Hall Association, n.d.-b)
The court system structure consists of the Supreme Court with 94
subordinate district courts and 13 courts of appeals. Each state
decides the structure of its own courts and how judges will be
selected; 95% of all legal cases are decided in state and local
courts (Justice at Stake, 2017).
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Congress sets the number of justices on the
court at one chief justice and eight associate justices for a maximum number of nine. The chief justice’s vote
on a case carries the same legal weight as the vote of each associate judge. The Supreme Court can hear a
case through original jurisdiction, that is, it is able to be the first court to hear a case, or appellate jurisdiction,
which means that it reviews cases that have been tried in lower courts. In the judicial system, there are two
guiding philosophies, judicial activism and judicial restraint.
Judicial activism, also known as judicial intervention, holds that the court should interpret the text of the
Constitution and assume the role of national policymaker. Judicial restraint holds that the court should limit its
power by not striking down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional (Farshtey, n.d.-a).
The Supreme Court only accepts about 100 cases a year and is in session from the first Monday in October
until June or July. It uses its cases to set precedent for all lower courts to follow. Four of the justices must
agree to hear a case before a writ of certiorari—a demand to the lower court to deliver its records on the
case—is requested. During the hearing, both sides present oral arguments lasting no more than 30 minutes
each, and each side submits a written brief containing the full argument. Once this is completed, the justices
gather to discuss the case and vote. Once a case is decided, an opinion is written. The vote on the case is
not considered final until the opinion explaining the legal basis for the decision is written.
The three main sources of law are the Constitution, legislative statutes, and legal precedents. The court
system cannot issue a decision except in response to a case presented to it, and it must stay within the facts
of the case. While the courts are powerful in their ability to knock down laws passed by legislation, they, too,
are bound by the law and must rule within it.
With all of these moving parts, it is easy to see how bureaucracy and red tape have become synonymous. Do
these entities work independently? Are they impartial? Compounding these concerns is the concept of the
iron triangle. The iron triangle refers to the theory that three primary entities influence and dictate what
happens in government: interest groups, members of Congressional committees, and agency bureaucrats.
These groups rely on one another to provide the other’s needs. This mutual dependency results from one or
more of the others within the triangle providing instrumental services, information, or policy that is necessary
to the others. Ultimately, this speculation reinforces the fact that there are multiple factors at play with multiple
players doing all they can to try and ensure their programs or issues wind their way successfully though the
system.
PS 1010, American Government
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References
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2017). Policy basics: Introduction to the federal budget process.
Retrieved from http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process
Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). CIA OHB lobby memorial wall [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CIA_OHB_Lobby_Memorial_Wall.jpg
Department of Agriculture. (2003). In Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/socialsciences-and-law/political-science-and-government/us-government/united-states-department
Farshtey, K. (n.d.-a). The bureaucracy and the judiciary. Retrieved from
http://mrfarshtey.net/apgov_review/bureaucracy-judiciary.pdf
Farshtey, K. (n.d.-b). Chapter 15: The bureaucracy; Section 1: The federal bureaucracy. Retrieved from
http://mrfarshtey.net/gov_outlines/Mag_Chp15_Outline.pdf
FEMA director Brown resigns. (2005, September 12). Retrieved from
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/12/brown.resigns/
History.com Editors. (n.d.). Marbury v. Madison. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/marbury-vmadison
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.-a). 56e. Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society.” Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/us/56e.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.-b). The federal court structure [Image]. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/9b.asp
Justice at Stake. (2017). America’s courts: A primer. Retrieved from
http://www.justiceatstake.org/resources/americas-courts-a-primer/
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Judicial review. Retrieved from
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/judicial_review
Shoup, A. (2005, September 9). FEMA faces intense scrutiny. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/government_programs-july-dec05-fema_09-09/
Winer, D. (2005). FEMA help desk [Image]. Retrieved from

Suggested Reading
To access the following resources, click the links below.
To learn more details about how the bureaucracy functions and how it can be influenced by outside sources,
please view the resource below.
Farshtey, K. (n.d.). The bureaucracy and the judiciary. Retrieved from
http://mrfarshtey.net/apgov_review/bureaucracy-judiciary.pdf
Read “Chapter 4: Judicial Appointments and the Prospective Accountability of Judicial Nominees to the U.S.
Senate” on pp. 209–222 in the eBook listed below to gain insight on the judicial nomination process.
Geyh, C. G., & O’Connor, S. D. (2009). When courts and Congress collide: The struggle for control of
America’s judicial system. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/columbiasu/detail.action?docID=10362203&p00=geyh
PS 1010, American Government
5
View the link below to get an inside look at the federal debt.
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
National Debt Awareness Center. (n.d.). The U.S. national debt is $19.8 trillion! Retrieved from
http://www.federalbudget.com/
The link below provides insight into the function and organization of the Office of Management and Budget.
The White House. (n. d.). Office of Management and Budget. Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb
PS 1010, American Government
6
Instructions
For this assignment, you will prepare an essay in which you will reflect upon the material you have
studied in this unit. Make sure that your paper answers the following questions:
•
•
•
•
What is the structure of the federal bureaucracy? In your opinion, should the federal
bureaucracy be considered, as it is by some, as the “real government”? Why, or why not?
What is the structure and role of the judiciary system? Give at least one example of how the
judicial system can curb the power of the bureaucracy and one example each of how it can
curb the power of the executive and legislative branches.
What is the iron triangle, and how does it affect the creation of government policy?
What has this unit taught you about the inner workings of the federal government?
Your paper must be at least three pages in length, be double-spaced, and typed in 12-point Times New
Roman font.
You must use at least three academic references, one of which must come from the CSU Online Library,
for the development of your paper. Make sure that all sources are cited and referenced using APA
guidelines.
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. (2016). Federal courts & the public. Retrieved from
http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/feder…
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8. The bureaucracy: The real government. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8b. The organization of the bureaucracy. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8b.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8c. Who are the bureaucrats? Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8c.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 8d. Reforming the bureaucracy. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/8d.asp
Independence Hall Association. (n.d.). 9b. The structure of the federal courts. Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/gov/9b.asp
The White House. (2016). The judicial branch. Retrieved from
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/judicial-branch

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